A new 24-hour gym is set to fill an empty unit at a multi-million pound cinema and leisure complex.

US company Snap Fitness will be the first business to join Travelodge and Picturehouse at Elwick Place in Ashford - six months after the development first opened its doors.

The fitness company - which already operates in Maidstone, Sittingbourne, Ebbsfleet, Queenborough, Gravesend and Dartford - has centres in 19 countries.

The news comes after KentOnline revealed earlier this month how a coffee shop, national restaurant chain, media company and railway museum could move into the site.

Eight units expected to be filled by big-name restaurants have sat empty since the £75m Elwick Place development opened six months ago.

But now Snap Fitness franchisee Graham Athey, from Braintree, has submitted an application to Ashford Borough Council (ABC) to install the company's signage on the new building.

If approved, it will fill unit number five, which is to the left of the Picturehouse entrance.

The new gym, which offers group workouts and fitness classes, heart rate monitoring and personal training, is expected to open seven days a week.

It will be the eighth gym to open in Ashford and the fourth to open in the town centre, as The Gym, Park Club and The Stour Centre are already operating nearby.

In April, plans were approved for a Snap Fitness gym near Herne Bay.

The 24-hour gym also opened in Queensborough, Sheppey earlier this month.

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